Greeting cards have been well known for many, many years. These cards have taken on many different shapes and sizes in order to fit any and all occasions. At the same time, it is common practice for special occasions, to send potted or cut flowers to an individual or group of people for celebrating specific events or accomplishments or to cheer up sick or convalescing people.
While various greeting cards take on different shapes and sizes, it has been impractical up to now to combine a beautiful floral arrangement along with a special greeting card. This is not to say, that it has not been attempted, but this combination of elements in the past has been quite unsatisfactory. On some occasions, a vial containing water has been positioned on the reverse side of the greeting card with an opening provided through the card for the insertion of a small flower or bud. The stem of the flower extends downward into the partially sealed tube so that the bud will remain alive and have an acceptable appearance for a few days at least until the card can be delivered.
On some occasions, a hole has merely been punched through the card and flowers have been inserted through the folder and fastened on the reverse side to retain the flowers in position. No attempt was provided in these cards to preserve the freshness or appearance of the flowers themselves. With this type of card, it is obvious that it is necessary to deliver the card immediately once the floral arrangement has been inserted since the flowers cannot be expected to look fresh or live for very long.
Various other combinations have been attempted in the past, but also with only minor success. One of these took the form of a Christmas ornament which was provided in a fold-up three-dimensional box wherein the blank for the box was presented to the user with instructions for folding and inserting various tabs to secure the box in its three-dimensional configuration. The purpose of this box was for germinating seeds after the Christmas season and the box was no longer used as an ornament on the Christmas tree.
Other types of expandable cartons have been well known in the prior art over the years. These are containers which are sold in a flat configuration, but which can be expanded to form a box-like structure. In the past, these cartons have been used for many purposes, but none have ever been used as a base for a greeting card and more especially a floral-type greeting card.
As a result, the present invention is directed to an arrangement for providing an expandable floral greeting card which can be used for various occasions and which can be easily stored in the inventory of a small shop or florist.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an inexpensive and easily used product which can be quickly assembled into a proper shape with the attachment or insertion of a floral decorative arrangement. A foam block is provided for securing the flowers as well as providing nutrients and fluids to maintain the freshness of the flowers over a period of time.